A New Family
by Lady Catherine of the Books
Summary: A new take on a wizard law, with Severus finally getting the family he deserves. Multicossover
1. Chapter 1

After the war with Voldemort the wizarding world was left with questions. Namely, how to prevent a dark lord from ever rising again? To answer this question they looked at another, why had Voldemort become a dark lord? Through the investigation certain facts became common knowledge; Voldemort's real name was Tom Riddle, he was a half-blood, and he had been raised in a muggle orphanage. Due to this information coming to light, some theorized that Tom had become dark due to being orphaned then raised by muggles in a unsavory environment. As politicians will do when trying to come up with an easy fix so they will be reelected, the Minister came up with the idea of a law and since they are Wizards a spell was attached. Unfortunately the witch picked to head up the project had less then a pristine character and as it turned out (or what they claimed later) was a little unstable in the head. They outlined a bill that would in essence create foster homes for children who were magical but orphaned. The magical child would be placed with "a wizarding family of good character." The witch in charge of seeing the project to completion foresaw many difficulties in enforcing the law and making sure the children were in suitable (safe) homes. After all many death eaters had claimed imperious and escaped justice, what if a muggleborn went to a deatheater? Also what if a child was in an abusive environment but not an orphan? So she created two versions of the spell that was to be attached to the law, one simply alerted the ministry when a magical child was orphaned and the other was really quite something. It ensured the when a magical child was orphaned or abused or in an environment where their needs could not be met, that they would be instantly transported and legally adopted by the wizard most able to care for that child. Now to apply this spell she had to do a few illegal acts. One was to make sure it was done in the heart of the ministry and that she was not interrupted when performing the spell. I will spare you the details, but the reporters did get a wonderful story out of the whole experience. The witch had called on deep and old magic cementing the spell in the very foundation of wizarding society and magic. The spell would affect not only the British wizarding society but the whole magical world. There is always a cost to this much power being used and the witch died. With her death any possibility of removing the spell disappeared and her unintended sacrifice increased and strengthened the spell.  
Almost a year after the war Severus Tobias Snape received the first of the five raven haired little boys that would become his children. The first boy to arrived was Sherlock Homes. 


	2. Chapter 2

Sherlock was an intelligent little boy of eight years old when he came to Severus. The Holmes Patriarch had married and fathered a son, named Mycroft, then sometime around the boy's 16th birthday divorced his wife and married a rich 20 something young woman and soon fathered another son. The second son was named Sherlock. Sherlock was orphaned when his father decided to take his lovely wife on a surprise vacation for her birthday, since Sherlock was at a boarding school it was quite easy to drop everything and whisk his lovely bride off. Unfortunately the plane had a mechanical failure and everyone on the plane was killed. Sherlock received the news soon after the event took place and by that night he had disappeared. Now while Mycroft had resented the actions of his father, he had still loved both his father and his brother, upon hearing that his father had died and his brother had disappeared shortly thereafter he began to suspect foul play. Fearing his brother had been kidnapped the now 25 year old immediately launched an investigation. It was quickly confirmed that the death of his father was an unfortunate accident, but the disappearance of his brother remanded a mystery. He began to use his considerable government powers to investigate, 6 months into the search for his brother he received a letter.  
While Mycroft had been searching Severus had been becoming used to the idea of being a father. His introduction into parenthood had been rather startling. He woke up to piercing blue eyes and a finger poking his nose. It is little wonder that he let out a very manly shriek. After a few dramatics and some accusations of kidnapping from a very precocious child, Severus flowed the headmaster to find out what on earth was going on, at the same time the headmaster arrived so did a ministry owl.  
"I do believe that I should congratulate you, it's a boy"  
"Har har, very funny. Now do be serious Albus how are we going to fix this?"  
"I'm afraid my boy that this can not be changed. If it was just a matter of getting around the law that would be one matter but... It is the magic my boy. You are now this child's parent in everything except blood"  
"I cannot be a parent, I'm a deatheater. I hate children, and how would I even keep a child a Hogwarts?"  
"Ahh, I believe I can set your mind at ease on some matters. First, you were never convicted of being a deatheater and we both know you have redeemed yourself for your past mistakes. The castle has already made room for your child, as you have seen, and there have been a few teachers before with children so we have policies in place for this situation. Also I believe Sherlock to be a rather intelligent and mature child and you would see that too if you would look at the files sent over, you two will get along well. Why did you know he told me he did not want a lemon drop?"  
"I hardly see why that is impressive"  
"He did it before I even offered, then explained in wonderful detail how he came to the conclusion about what i was going to ask him. Trust me my boy you will get along well together"  
And that was that. Oh of course there were moments of fright and insecurity. The discovery of Sherlock's talent for potions helped smooth some rough patches, though how it was discovered shaved a few years off of Severus's life and before they knew it almost 6 months had passed. Severus and Sherlock had developed a nice routine when Albus came in one night to deliver some serious news, someone was searching for Sherlock.  
"What did the boy say when you told him?"  
"That he didn't think his brother would have cared one way or the other. Albus he also told me he wanted to stay with me and I'm telling you right now if think I'm just going to hand him over to some little..."  
"Severus! Calm down, that little adoption spell really knows what it is doing, there is no way that the man, Mycroft, can take the boy away from you. To all outside sources the legalities have been satisfied and if they were to try it, the boy would just be sent back to you unless you signed over your rights. But I would like to urge you to let the boy meet him and a least let his brother know that Sherlock is safe and being well cared for."  
"I know that is what I should do, but Albus I'm terrified. Terrified that the boy will not want to stay with me once he meets this brother."  
"Let him make the choice and I'm sure you will not be disappointed."  
And so a meeting was arranged. Mycroft was happy to see that his brother was alive and after what was almost an interrogation for Severus was satisfied that Sherlock was in the right place. Mycroft surprised Severus when he told him that he had no objections to Severus continuing to act as Sherlocks' adoptive father as long as Mycroft himself had visiting rights. So it was decided that Sherlock would spend a portion of the holidays with Mycroft and until he reached Hogwarts age would visit him once a month on the weekends. This was deemed satisfactory to all parties involved especially Sherlock who now knew that both men cared for him rather deeply. Mycroft ended up becoming indispensable to the government because of his knowledge of the Magical community and Severus... Severus began to know the unconditional love of a child.  
Severus had almost 5 more months of quite before his second son arrived. Perseus Jackson made quite the entrance.


	3. Chapter 3

Perseus (Percy) Jackson had just turned six when his mother died in a car crash. He was left to the very heavy handed care of his step-father. A little known fact Percy's mother was a Squib, that was how she was able to see through the mist, coming from a very prestigious line of wizards that managed to breed themselves magic less. Let that be a lesson to purebloods, anyway Percy's magic activated because of his fathers contribution and when his step-father's actions were deemed life threatening whisked him away to safety. Severus and Sherlock were next to the Black Lake at the time collecting ingredients for a potions Sherlock wanted to experiment on, when the boy appeared out of no where. The boy was not in the best of conditions when he arrived. Smelly Gabe, the boy's step-father, had no idea how to take care of a child even if he had wanted to which he hadn't. The boy had also just disappeared in the middle of a punishment, so he looked rather worse for wear. Dirty, covered in bruises, and just about to pass out I believe was how Sherlock described the boy when he pointed him out to his guardian. Now if you where Percy at this moment what would you do it you saw a man, who many have described as looking like a vampire, stalking toward you in a most intimidating way? Well, he ran. Toward the Black Lake, water had always been a comfort to the boy and he had heard somewhere that vampires can't cross running water. He thought if he could just get a few feet in then the Vampire wouldn't be able to get him. Fortunately Percy was distracted from his original plan, as he neared the Black Lake he noticed several people in it and on closer inspection it revealed that they weren't human but merpeople. The merpeople had sensed his arrival and had come to the top of the lake to see the great son of Poseidon. Of course no one knew this until years later, so shh. The boy stopped at the edge of the lake transfixed by what he saw, one brazen mergirl swam as close as possible and them gestured for him to come out and play. As he was about to take his first step into the water someone grabbed him, picked him up, and carried him away from the edge.  
"Do you have any idea of what you were about to do? I never seen the merpeople act like that, they could have killed you without meaning to! Don't ever go near the Blake Lake again!" Severus yelled, having just been given a near heart attack when he thought he wouldn't make it in time to stop the boy.  
Unfortunately this was a little too much for Percy. He hadn't been held in such a long time and being cradled in the arms of a person while they express concern for you was so familiar that he experienced an ache in his soul for his dead mother. Percy broke down in sobs, complete with snot and everything. Severus seeing the bruises and cuts up close called Sherlock over and made his way to Madam Pomfrey. The whole time he held the boy, rubbed soothing circles on his back, tried to say words of comfort, and was very thankful that it was summer so his reputation was not ruined by student gossip. By the time they arrived Percy had calmed down and fallen asleep which turned out to be for the best. Madam Pomfrey did a complete check up per Severus's request, the man did not like the look of some of those bruises. It turned out that Percy had been the victim of abuse periodically over the years but with in the last six weeks it had increase enormously and the boy was starting to show signs of malnutrition. Dumbledore was sent for and a letter form the ministry again arrived to inform him of his new son. This time Severus read all of the paperwork attached to the boy, he had learned his lesson from Sherlock's situation. This led him to the knowledge that Percy's mother was deceased, he was being taken care of by his step-father, and his father was unknown and presumed dead. He also learned that the boy had been diagnosed with ADHD and Dyslexia. All in all he felt very inadequate in is ability to take care of another boy, again Albus assured him and Severus did his best. Severus immediately decided to teach both the boys occlumency, knowing how this had helped him as a child and not wanting to exclude one of the boys and therefore cause jealousy. Sherlock was a natural and surprised Severus with his patience in helping Percy, since his personality seemed to reflect Severus's own. When asked why he was so patient, he revealed that all the over kids where dunderheads, but Percy was his brother so he couldn't be a dunderhead. Sherlock was also the one to discover that Percy had no trouble learning Greek, Latin, and had minimal trouble learning Romance languages. While Severus labored trying to teach Percy to read English, Sherlock had taught him how to read, write, and speak Greek fluently. Severus almost turned Percy's education completely over to Sherlock after that discovery, until he learned that this was only one of several "experiments" as Sherlock called them that he was performing on Percy. Unfortunately while Percy gained enough patience to follow a recipe he was never going to be a potion master prodigy. Though Severus thought he would be extremely talented with Defense against the Dark Arts, this was based purely on the fact that one weekend Percy somehow ended up in between a seventh year duel. He managed to doge the spells and then his accidental magic kicked in and he dumped water on the seventh year boy and girl. Of course when Severus found out they had put his son in danger both wished they had never been accepted into Hogwarts, but never let it be said that Severus didn't have high hopes for his children or wasn't a protective father. Again a year pasted and then Severus received another child, this one surprisingly being Harry Potter.


	4. Chapter 4

Severus did not know at first that it was Harry Potter. He awoke on morning to hear is son quietly begging something to come out of his wardrobe. Fearing that Percy had finally convinced Hagrid to let him have some kind of dangerous beast, he quickly through on his robe and made his way to his second son's room.  
"Percy, who are you talking to?"  
"Shh, Dad! You'll scare him."  
No matter how many times his sons called him dad it always took him a moment to recover. Figuring it was best to jump in, since he was probably not going to get any information from his impulsive child, he got down on his knees and peered into the wardrobe. Instead of the animal he expected to find there was a little boy. He didn't look much older than three, practically swallowed in too large clothing and covered in dirt from head to toe. Immediately Severus recognized some of the signs that were first in Percy when he had arrived.  
"Alright, time to come out now young man." Severus stated in a demanding tone. The boy crept out of his hiding spot and Severus gently laid a hand on the boys shoulder. His suspicions where aroused again when the boy flinched. Severus first actions were to get the boy cleaned up, put some clean clothes on him and then take him up to see Madam Pomfrey. His first challenge was to clean the boy, he didn't seem to want to get near the bathroom with Severus. Percy seemed to understand why and quickly took control of the situation explaining the water would be just the right temperature and that the boy could feel it before he got in so he knew he could trust them. Severus would later ask how Percy knew what to say, and the boy explained that sometime his step-father liked to play mean tricks like; making Percy take a freezing cold shower or flushing the toilet so the water would scold him. Severus had never wanted to make a person pay more then those who harmed his children. It was also during bath time that a famous scar was discovered, but considering the state of the child Severus felt that it would be better to think over his options before making any hasty decisions. After the boy was cleaned up and put into a nice clean over shirt they went to Hogwarts and visited Madam Pomfrey. Severus again asked for a complete check up and again his fears were confirmed. The boy had been nearly starved, though he was four the child looked nearly three possibly two and the poor boy had obviously been hit often enough to leave several bruises. The boy had a slight problem with his eyes that Madam Pomfrey fixed right up and she also started him on nutrition potions. The ministry letter arrived while the check up was in progress. Severus already knew that the boy was orphaned, but it was a surprise to learn that Petunia had been given custody of the boy. With each line of the very sparse report on the boy that Severus read, he became more and more angry with the headmaster. Excusing himself and reassuring both boys that he would be back soon, Severus made his way toward the headmaster's office.  
"Severus, I wasn't expecting you today, come to collect more ingredients for your and Sherlock's experiments?"  
"Not today day Albus. Percy wanted to see Hagrid, and I wanted to talk to you."  
"Oh really my boy, how can I help you?"  
"Since I have become a father , I have started thinking about the past. More importantly Lily and Harry."  
"Ah, while that is only natural my boy, being a father now. Well you understand her sacrifice and what being a parent means. I assure you Severus your boys are..."  
"Oh I am not worried for my boys, I will protect them Albus. No I was wondering if I could speak to Harry. I would like to tell him about his mother, explain the friendship we had, and mate introduce him to my sons."  
"Oh Severus while that sounds like a marvelous idea, I'm afraid it's just not going to work. Harry is safest if no one from the magical community interacts with him. Also while I know you would be as discreet as possible you could let it slip about your role in Lily's death and Harry could accidentally tell your boys. You know how children are so quick to judge. No my boy I am afraid you seeing Harry would cause more harm than good, it's simply not safe."  
"I see headmaster. In that case I would like to inform you that I believe you should check on the boy-who-loved because I have heard several unsavory rumors going around in very dark circles. Have a good day sir."  
"Severus, now see here, what is..."  
Without a backward glance Severus stalked out of the headmaster's office and hurried to the infirmary. He quickly checked with Poppy and received the documents stating Harry's injuries and recommended potions to help him recover. He picked up Harry, gathered Percy to him and flowed to Spinners end. He told the boys that they were going to be spending the weekend with Sherlock, explaining to Harry that this was his other new brother, and Mycroft. Percy had spent a few weekends with his brother before when he went on his visits, so this was nothing new to him. He quickly packed a bag for himself and his new little brother. Severus was on the phone arranging the visit with Mycroft. After receiving the congratulations on a new son, he quickly filled Mycroft in on the situation. He also told Myrcoft to go ahead had prepare the safe house just in case. As soon as he had finished the conversation he kissed and hived both of the boys, telling them he would see them soon and flowed them to Mycroft's. He was little worried about how skittish the boy was when it came to being touched but he knew that Percy would soon break him out of that habit and Sherlock could be surprising when it comes to that too. Severus quickly immersed himself in research. He was not surprised when he received a visited that night.  
"Where is the boy?"  
"Now Dumbledore, I have several boys to which one are you referring?"  
"Harry Potter, that is whom I am referring too! Is he alright? Where is he? Severus do not play games with me."  
"The boy is perfectly safe now Albus, little thanks to you! And it's Snape now."  
"Severus you can't be serious. The boy has to go back to his relatives; the blood wards are the only ways to protect him. If you would just listen instead of..."  
No Albus! You listen the hag that you in trusted my son to, abused him. I have the documentation to prove the whole family was in on it, including her fat whale of a son!"  
"He is not your son, Severus. He needs the blood of his mother for the ward..."  
"He is my son now! I have been doing a little research Headmaster. It turns out that some of wards you put around The Durselys are highly illegal. Did you now that it was your wards that interfered with the adoption magic. As soon as Harry was chased past the wards, by his bloody cousin no less, the magic detected him and brought the boy to me! Even if you try to take him, he will just come back. What will you do when school starts? You can't ward the whole bloody town!"  
"Was it really that bad?"  
"Look for yourself Albus, it's all here his injuries, the neglect, did you know his room is a cupboard?"  
After Albus and Severus had a little of a heart to heart, Dumbledore agreed that he would not interfere with Harry's placement. Of course Severus did not believe that Albus would stick to the promise but it was a start. Albus wanted to see Harry right away but Severus explained that the boy was currently spending quality time with his new brothers and Severus would be joining the boys soon, so Dumbledore really should be going. It wasn't until later the Albus realized he had damaged Severus' trust in him and it would take awhile to earn that back. Harry was good for the small family. Sherlock and Severus were both very similar in the fact that they did not "do" emotions. When Percy arrived that had slowly changed and Harry expedited the process. Suddenly they had a severely neglected four year old on their hands. Percy of course took to being an older brother like a fish to water. Sherlock was a little worrying at first because we all know the boy does not like to share and isn't the best with emotions, but again he surprised Severus. Sherlock had read several psychology books when Percy had first come into the family and he know put his knowledge to good use, helping Harry know that the boy was accepted and a part of the family. It broke Severus' heart when he overheard a conversation between the boys. Harry was explaining that he thought his name was freak because that is what his aunt and uncle had called him. Sherlock calmly explained that freak was not a name but an insult and not to worry because many people had called him a freak and he was superior to them all, just like Harry was. Severus continued to undergo changes too. Once he considered himself to be beyond redemption, only living to try to make up for past mistakes and protect Lily's legacy. But now Severus had children a Nine year old, a seven year old and a four year old. His emotional maturity was having to increase at a fast pace because when; a four year old is hiding food or a seven year old still flinches when he raises a hand while yelling or even a nine year old who doesn't even consider the possibility that an adult's job is to keep the boy safe, while you have to learn fast with no excuse of I don't "do" emotions. Of course it helped that Harry quickly melted the heart of everyone he came into contact with and Percy wasn't too far behind on that score. Between the two boys Severus and Sherlock had more than enough emotion to deal with, of course when everything began to settle down and a routine was developed a new child came into the picture. Loki was very unique but still a child that Severus would always be proud of.


	5. Chapter 5

Loki was a mystery. Eight year old Loki appeared a couple of days after Sherlock had received his Hogwarts' letter. Severus had been making a list of all the school supplies needed and planing the excursion when Loki just appeared in front of him. Severus had never actually seen his other boys arrive so he was a little startled but he quickly realized that he now had another child. He also quickly realized that there was something unusual with this one. While he would never claim his other boys were normal at least that had been able to tell more about themselves then their first name, but that was all Loki could remember about himself. Severus was sure that when the documents from the ministry arrived that would clear everything up, unfortunately he was wrong. When the documents arrived it was a slim folder, with the adoption papers that simply stated that Loki, no last name, was now the adopted son of Severus Snape. No past school records or medical files. He immediately decided to have the boy looked at by Pomfrey and to have a talk with the headmaster. After making arrangements for his boys to be looked after by Narcissa. Pomfrey gave the boy a clean bill of health and could see no medical reason why the boy could not remember anything. Though after Severus insisted on a diagnostic to check spell damage it was quickly found out that someone had placed a memory block on the child. The spell was like nothing either professional had ever seen. Severus quickly took the information he had gathered to Albus hoping that maybe he could shed some light on the situation. Unfortunately the headmaster was at a loss as much as everyone else was, but he did warm Severus that the spell probably had cost the castor a great amount of energy and would only be used as a last resort. He explained that it might be better for the boy not to remember, of course Severus could never leave a question unanswered, he knew those could quickly come back to bite a person. So he nodded along with the headmaster and made his own plans. Loki was quickly accepted into the family. He and Sherlock got along like two peas in a pod, always searching for more knowledge. Sherlock was a little upset that he wouldn't be able to spend more time with his new brother, but Severus reminded him that he would have the weekends and time after class if he was truly desperate to spend time with his family. The Snape family lived at Hogwarts during the school year, the boys flowing to Spinners End to walk to primary school. Percy was excited to add another little brother, even if this one was only a year younger. Mycroft had insisted that Sherlock learn muggle self defense, so it ended up with all the boys learning self defense after Severus caught Sherlock trying to show Harry how to disable an opponent. Besides Sherlock knew that his sons where going to need every advantage they could get. While for some strange reason all of his boys where gifted when it came to learning defense Percy caught on quicker than them all. He was also the first to start Loki on his training. Both he and Loki seemed unnaturally good, and whenever either boy became too stressed Severus could always find them sparing together. Whenever Harry and Loki were quite Severus knew to worry. Loki seemed to like his new role as big brother and had found a undiscovered streak of mischief in Harry. While Harry would never try a prank on his own, Loki was able to convince him to join in on almost every prank. Of course it helped that they never targeted family only those they considered bullies. Severus found Loki to be almost too much like himself, always trying to cover up his feelings, but he knew with his boys would continue to break down the emotional barriers that Loki tried to put up. While Loki was soon fitting into the family nicely with a few hiccups here and there, they would soon receive their biggest challenge in the form of Artemis Fowl.


	6. Chapter 6

Artemis Fowl was nine years old when his father went missing and his mother soon sunk in to insanity from depression. After about six months after the disappearance of his father he had a close call with his mother. She hasn't recognized him and if Julia had not been there Artemis was afraid his mother would have actually hurt him. After the incident Artemis told Butler that he was retiring for the night, locked himself in his room and broke down. Fowls were not suppose to cry or show emotion, they were suppose to suck it and get what they wanted but right now this Fowl was a nine year old who had the weight of a crime organizations on his shoulders and just wanted his mother to recognize him. Severus found the boy curled up in a ball asleep on his bed. When the boy awoke he toke the whole situation very calmly, he than calmly explained to Severus that he was not an orphan and had far too much to take care of to allow Snape to be his guardian. Severus then calmly introduced Artemis to the rest of his boys and told the child that he would take care of everything. As so as the documents arrived Severus spent hours going over the history of Artemis Fowl. There was no way he was letting his new son go completely back to that house and there was no way to keep Artemis from going back. So Severus devised a plan, the first step was contacting Butler. When Butler arrived Severus explained the situation and his plans, he was surprised how agreeable Butler was, until it came to one small detail. The man refused to leave Artemis side and Severus was not going to allow one of his sons to have a personal servant at all times. They came up with a compromise, Butler would faithfully serve Artemis when the boy was at his family home and when Severus took the boys on outings with the understanding that Butler would protect all of the boys not just Artemis. With everything settled he called in the boy. Severus had to give it Artemis, the boy was clever and crafty but Severus wasn't the Head of Slytherin for nothing. Artemis had apparently got along with the other boys quite well and demanded a similar visiting schedule as Sherlock with the addition of every weekend, they compromised on two nonconsecutive weekends a month. The boy then asked to speak to Butler alone, Severus decided it would be best to give the boy sometime to process so he agreed to step out of the room. Artemis immediately demanded that Butler get them out of here.  
"No."  
"What?"  
"No, you need this sir. I will help you take care of the business but right now you need to be taken care of."  
"I'm a Fowl Butler I don't need to be taken care of, what I need is to get out of here."  
"No what you need is to have someone who can take care of you. I will always protect you, and right now letting Mr. Snape be your guardian is the best protection I can give you. He reminds me a lot of you."  
With that Artemis started to adjust to his new life. Artemis got along beautifully with Loki and Sherlock the boys exchanged complex ideas like other exchange greetings. Between the three of them they were able to create a shield to ensure that technology could work with magic. Percy soon got Butler to agree to increase their self-defense training. Severus wasn't sure about the wisdom of this decision, but he was please that Butler was becoming protective of the rest of his boys. Harry and Artemis got along wonderfully until Artemis brought a childhood friend home. Artemis had trouble sharing; he had been an only child for years and had practically raised himself. So when he brought Hermione Granger to Spinners End he was unprepared for the other boys to take a liking to her and want to monopolize her time, but that's another story.


End file.
